Advisory Opinion

IECDB AO 2005-13

This opinion is in response to your email letter
of July 6, 2005, requesting an opinion from the Iowa Ethics
and Campaign Disclosure Board pursuant to Iowa Code section
68B.32A(11) and Board rule 351—1.2. We note at the outset
that the Board’s jurisdiction is limited to the application
of Iowa Code chapters 68A and 68B, Iowa Code section 8.7, and
rules in Iowa Administrative Code chapter 351. Advice in a Board
opinion, if followed, constitutes a defense to a subsequent
complaint based on the same facts and circumstances.

FACTUAL STATEMENT:

We understand you request this opinion in your
capacity as a Division Administrator for the Iowa Department
of Elder Affairs (IDEA). You advise us that IDEA manages educational
conferences that are partly funded by fees charged to vendors
and sponsors. You believe that both vendors and sponsors receive
something of value (visibility, recognition, et cetera) in return
for the fees that they pay. You desire clarification on whether
new Iowa Code section 8.7 would require IDEA to report these
fees to the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board.

QUESTION:

Are fees received from sponsors and vendors
of an educational conference reportable “gifts, bequests,
or grants” under Iowa Code section 8.7?

OPINION:

In 2005 Iowa Acts, House File 810, section 27,
the General Assembly enacted new Iowa Code section 8.7 that
requires, in part, “all gifts, bequests, and grants received
by a department or accepted by the governor on behalf of the
state” to be reported to the Board.

In applying this language to your question,
clearly the fees you describe are not “bequests or grants.”
The issue then becomes whether or not these fees constitute
“gifts” and become reportable under the law.

Iowa Code section 8.7 does not define the term
“gift.” However, the Board also enforces Chapter
68B the “Government Ethics and Lobbying Act” 1 that
includes Iowa Code section 68B.2(9) defining a “gift”
as follows:

“…a rendering of
anything of value in return for which legal consideration of
equal or greater value is not given and received.”

We believe that this definition is fair and
reasonable to apply to your question of reportable “gifts”
under Iowa Code section 8.7. It is the definition that applies
to all state officials and state employees concerning gifts
that they personally receive under Iowa Code section 68B.22.

As a general rule, a “fee” does
not constitute a “gift” as a “fee” denotes
a payment in exchange for the providing of services or items.
However, it is possible for a department to charge a fee that
so clearly exceeds the value of the service or item being provided
that the fee is not reasonably related to the providing of the
service or item. In such situations, the excess portion of the
“fee” has become a “gift” and would
trigger the disclosure requirement of Iowa Code section 8.7.

In reviewing the materials you provided with
your opinion request, it appears that the sponsors do receive
a number of items in return for their sponsorship fees and clearly
a sponsor receives more items in return for paying higher fees.
In addition, the fees you charge for exhibit space and for lunch
appear to be reasonable.

Therefore, the Board believes that the sponsorship
and vendor fees that IDEA charges for its educational conferences
are not reportable “gifts” under Iowa Code section
8.7.